Misunderstanding
by The Princess Butterfly
Summary: Sometimes love shows itself in the most unexpected places. But is a simple misunderstanding all it takes to tear it apart? ONESHOT, Soren/Ilyana, takes place somewhere in Daein mid-PoR. R&R!


**Hey all! Princess Butterfly checking in with her first fanfiction. xD The first one going live, that is.**

**I wanted to start off with something short and sweet, while at the same time combating the disappointing lack of Soren/Ilyana. It's not meant to be taken too seriously, just a cute lil' one-shot. x3**

**Why is the pairing so unpopular anyway? D: Poor Soren shouldn't have to be stuck single for the rest of his long, long life! Luckily, that's what fanfiction is for. xD**

**Warning: rated T for mild suggestive themes. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem. If I did, Ike would have a paired ending with Elincia instead of abandoning his friends and family on Tellius. -_- I mean, really?**

***sigh* Anyway! So, without further adieu, enjoy! :D**

_mis·un·der·stand·ing [mis-uhn-der-stan-ding] _

_noun_

_1._

_failure to understand correctly; mistake as to meaning or intent._

_2._

_a disagreement or quarrel._

Though her stomach was cavernously empty, her head was brimming with anxieties. Almost ten minutes had passed since she had eaten dinner, but more importantly... it was Soren. His brilliant, rosewood eyes seared their image into her brain, and whenever she looked into a grove or the snow, she could pick out patterns of his brand in the texture. Her eyes darted everywhere, trying to escape him. Ironically, it was her frantic need to escape and disregard for the path straight in front of her that caused her to collide straight into the mysterious staff officer of the company. They both fell over into the snowdrift with an exclamation of surprise. "I'm... I'm so sorry!" Ilyana cried, noticing that Soren's normally pale face was red with anger.

"W-watch where you're going," the staff officer muttered back as he busied himself with trying to find all his fallen papers in the snow.

"Here... let me help you," she said weakly, picking up a mysterious piece of paper before he could stop her and snatch it away.

"No!" he exclaimed.

But it was too late, as her eyes already caught a bit of words on the pages before Soren could snatch it away, in his tight, neat handwriting: "Ilyana. The very sight of her drives me to madness." Before she could read on, he had taken it back, but the hurt still lingered. Soren turned away from her to gather her other papers.

"I hope you didn't read that," he said tersely.

"N-no! I didn't!" she stammered with insistence, despite the crystalline tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Hopefully Soren didn't notice, as he had already stood and was in the process of walking away.

It was too much. How could he be so cruel, when she... she...

_...She felt nothing but care for him_? Once she saw Soren disappear behind a tent, she buried her face in her hands and wept openly. Sparkling tears trailed down her cheeks and made dark spots against the snow. She stayed here like this for a good while longer, letting the anguish flow out with every soft sob, until she noticed a shadow cast over her—and it wasn't just the sun making its slow, graceful arc.

"Ilyana!" exclaimed her good friend Mia. "Are you all right?"

"Mia!" Ilyana intoned, her voice hoarse with crying. "Oh, Mia, I don't think I can tell you here. Do you think... we can talk about it over food?" She only just now noticed how hungry all of the crying had made her.

"Of course! I'll make you a good hearty meal."

"Thanks, Mia," Ilyana sniffed, mustering up a weak smile. No matter how tough times got, Mia was always willing to lend a hand and a meal. The violette myrmidon led Ilyana to her tent, and then the kitchen.

"So, Ilyana," Mia said as she stirred some batter, "what's the problem?"

"Well... it's about Soren..." Ilyana rasped hungrily. The sounds of Mia stirring batter in the pot suddenly went still.

"Oh, Ilyana!" Mia exclaimed. "Did you finally tell him?"

"No..." she murmured, bowing her head slightly to fight back the next wave of tears and hunger-induced nausea. "I... had a glimpse out of his diary, and... and..."

"And? And what?" Mia clasped Ilyana's hands.

"It said the very sight of me drove him to madness!" Ilyana cried, weeping openly once more. She threw her arms around Mia's neck and sobbed into her soft chest.

Mia brought her arms around Ilyana and patted her back, humming, "Oh, don't cry, it's okay..."

"B-but what did I even do to him?" Ilyana sniffed into Mia's shoulder as her friend's firm arms enveloped her. "What did I do to make him hate me so..."

"Men are just like that sometimes," Mia comforted as one hand stroked gently over Ilyana's back.

"Sometimes I wish I never loved him," Ilyana continued to bawl. Though Mia's hug was comforting and warming, given the weather, they had to break away for Mia to continue tending to the meal. "But I don't understand... I might drain the stocks... a bit... but drive him crazy? It doesn't make sense..."

"Wait!" Mia exclaimed as she poured the batter into a pan, spilling some on the floor. "He said you drove him crazy?"

"Yes?" Ilyana questioned confusedly. "His exact words were, 'the very sight of her drives me to madness'..."

Mia's face broke into a huge grin. "Oh, Ilyana! He loves you. I'm sure of it."

"Wh-what?" Ilyana stammered. "What do you mean, Mia?" She suggestively eyed the spilt batter on the floor.

"You don't drive him crazy," Mia purred, "he's crazy _for_ you."

"Crazy... for me?" Ilyana mused aloud, testing the words on her tongue as though they were grease dripping off a lamb shank as the words registered.

"You've got it!" Mia said cheerfully as she presented Ilyana with a beautiful freshly baked cake.

Ilyana's eyes lit up and happily began devouring the cake, all else nearly forgotten. But as the hunger pangs began to fade, the gears in her brain began to turn. "Then... what should I do? How can I approach him after such a disaster?"

"Just let him know how you feel," Mia reassured her with a friendly hand on her shoulder. "It'll all work out. And if it doesn't, I'll kick his butt myself." She winked.

Mia's hand burned on Ilyana's shoulder with fierce, comforting reassurance. Ilyana's cake-lined, troubled frown spread into a smile as Mia's words and touch filled her with confidence.  
>"I... I think I will! Thank you Mia!" She gave her friend another tight squeeze.<p>

Mia gave Ilyana one last hug before whispering, "Go!" and giving her a friendly shove toward Soren's tent.

Ilyana stumbled out into the soft, powdery snow, looking back at Mia one last time before proceeding to the flap of Soren's tent and softly knocking. "Soren?" she called quietly.

"What is it?" a low, hoarse voice croaked.

"It's... it's me, Ilyana," she intimated. "Can we speak for a moment?"

"I... why? What could you possibly want from me?"

"About earlier today..." she began, before she was startled by the sound of movement from within the tent and a low, "Come in."

Cautiously, she slipped in through the tent flap and found Soren standing not far from her, his face hidden by his bangs.  
>"About your note..." she whispered softly. Soren tilted his head slightly at this, and although it was hard to tell in the shade of his tent, she saw that his ruby eyes were red... redder than usual, at least. Ilyana let out a slight gasp.<p>

"You... you read it after all," he murmured, bringing a hand to his face. "I don't believe it. So you... you know."

"Soren..." She moved in closer, flinching as he drew away. "This is all a big misunderstanding. You see, I... I..." The words lodged themselves in her throat, like the bone of a lambshank swallowed whole. "I feel the same way," she whispered breathlessly, almost barely audibly.

His ruby eyes widened at her confession, and he held still as she slowly drew closer and closer, until finally, their lips touched.

At first Ilyana panicked at the touch of his pillow-soft lips, perfectly motionless against her. But then, suddenly, his hands were lacing themselves in her hair and his tongue pushed commandingly into her mouth in a fierce, passionate skirmish for dominance. She gasped at his vibrancy, his attentions—everything she'd ever longed for, and yet, it surprised her how fiery the cold staff officer could be.

They both drew away to catch their breaths, panting heavily into the hot, moist stretch of air between them.

"Wh-why didn't you tell me earlier?" she whispered, worried that it was too good to be true. Soren blushed furiously and looked away.

"I… I thought you wouldn't accept me," he admitted honestly. "I'm… a freak. I have no friends. I…"

Ilyana silenced him with another kiss, this time playing the dominant role.

"Please," she muttered against his chin, nibbling at it softly like a tender lambshank. "Please… don't cry. I'm here now."

Despite this, all the tears that Soren had been bottling up inside of himself were soon streaming out from him in gentle rivulets, pouring down his cheeks and catching the sunlight with a faint, clear glimmer. Ilyana brought her thumb to his eyes and gently wiped away the excess of tears.

"You were always so brave… on the battlefield… and open," Soren said between sobs punctuating his sorrowful words. "I have to hide behind a mask of impassionate deceit."

"You don't any longer," Ilyana murmured comfortingly. "You can be yourself in my presence from now on."

Soren tilted her chin up and brought them in for another kiss, gentler this time.

"And you can let me have some of your lambshank," Ilyana suggested in a whisper. Soren smiled at this and they kissed passionately. Passionately because they knew, that despite Soren's differences and Ilyana's eccentricities, their true love for each other would prevail.

**A/N:**

**A little sappy, but not every story has to end in tragedy. xD Sometimes I get a little sick of all the doom and gloom floating around in stories, you know? **

**Anyway, tell me what you think! Reviewers get cookies? ^^; *shyly nudges tray forward a bit* Until next time! Later~**


End file.
